Many years ago I did something that was, at the time, seen as foolish. Despite the fact that I suffered from progressive hearing loss, I decided to pursue a career in law in the City of London.
Being deaf in those days was often seen as a source of amusement, and it was regarded as irresponsible to exceed what were regarded as ones limitations.
Back in the 1980’s political correctness was in short supply and I suspect supplies were at their shortest in the City of London, a traditionally conservative arena. I was told to choose a specialism that required me to analyse documents more and deal with people less.
Again, I was foolish. People tend to interest me. Documents often bore me unless they have a human context. I wanted to specialise in litigation.
At that time, I could conceal my deafness to some extent. Like many people who will read this, I got to be quite good at it.
At times I pretended to understand what I couldn’t, hoping that I would catch up afterwards. I would change the topic of conversation to something I chose, so that I could anticipate people’s answers. I probably lip read to some extent, although I did not realise that I was doing it then.
I was able to get a job in a City law firm by a combination of concealment, bluff, and sheer luck (I was in a quiet room and my two interviewers spoke loudly). By the time my new employers realised I was deaf, I had already established that I could work as a solicitor. One grumbled I should have told them. I didn’t mention the maxim “caveat emptor”, though it was tempting.
The decline of my hearing has continued ever since. But again, I got lucky. I was able to establish a reputation and was made a partner in a City firm before my hearing required too much accommodation.
I am now profoundly deaf. My specialism is fraud litigation. Ironically, an area that I now lecture to other lawyers in is interviewing techniques. I teach interviewers how to ascertain the truth from an interviewee.
Perhaps I would not be doing it if I hadn’t been able to conceal my deafness from my own interviewers 30 years ago. I have met other deaf lawyers here too. They have had experiences that are similar to my own.
I have met some of the most decent, inspiring people I know in the City, but it can be an inhuman place. Nowadays, that’s not how it wants to be seen. Commercial pressures have resulted in most major organisations advertising their policies of diversity and inclusivity. Some are right to do so. I have come across people and organisations that are as forward thinking as you will find anywhere.
Some, however, do not do what they say on the tin, but advertise their diversity and inclusivity policies anyway. You have to be very careful to speak to people with disabilities who actually work at a company if you want a good picture of what an employer is like.
Having worked in the City for some 25 years I decided in November of last year to form, with two of my friends, a charity. The charity is called City Disabilities.
We offer mentoring schemes, advice and support to professionals in London with disabilities or long-term medical conditions. It’s early days, but we have already taken on our first full-time employee. You’ll find us at www.citydisabilities.org.uk. If you are interested in a career in law in the City (and we cater for all professionals), you might like to see a paper I have written on it at http://citydisabilities.org.uk/working-with-a-disability-in-a-city-law-firm/
We now have a full-time trust officer and are busy reaching out to students, as well as disabled professionals who are already working in the City. The stories we hear are sometimes inspiring and sometimes shocking.
Over the next few months I will share some of them – on a no names basis – with you. The City may be an unusual place, but despite its idiosyncrasies, working in the City with a disability can give rise to the same emotions and struggles that all people with disabilities experience.
Robert Hunter is a partner in a major city law firm. He is profoundly deaf having suffered from progressive hearing loss since his early teens. He has conducted advocacy in fraud and trust cases at all stages in the proceedings including carrying out cross examination at trial. Together with Kayleigh Farmer and Kate Rees-Doherty he founded City Disabilities, offering mentoring and advice to professionals in London. In his spare time he is a keen pilot and supports Aerobility, a charity that assists disabled pilots to fly.
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Tim
May 26, 2015
Interesting post; this is some achievement by Robert.
I know that there are quite a few profoundly Deaf people with an LL.B, but only three solicitors and I do not know of one who has won a training contract with a private firm. Maybe one of the reasons for that is identified by Robert:
“I was able to get a job in a City law firm by a combination of concealment, bluff, and sheer luck (I was in a quiet room and my two interviewers spoke loudly). By the time my new employers realised I was deaf, I had already established that I could work as a solicitor. One grumbled I should have told them. I didn’t mention the maxim “caveat emptor”, though it was tempting.”
Most profoundly Deaf people are Deaf from birth or a young age, so they are not able to do this. In other words, the buyer will be aware. So I hope your charity will maybe look at how they can help Deaf people struggling to become professionals, rather than just those who already are professionals.
Vivian Li
May 27, 2015
Excellent points, Tim. Although I concede that Robert’s accomplishments are laudable (most especially as a person with a disability), that same paragraph you quoted stood out to me too — namely, that had Robert not had the fortuity to fool those interviewers, he may very well not be here having written this article. He likely wouldn’t have been given the opportunity to set foot into his career track in the first place. This is not pessimism on my part; this is just acknowledging the harsh reality that the playing field is still very much polluted by illicit employment discrimination against the disabled. Indeed, that very paragraph raised many alarms in my mind: it implies that whether a person with a disability can achieve professional employment is almost entirely dependent upon how well they can “hide” their disability. This is downright frightening news for those of us with more “visible” disabilities, who may not be able to hide them during the interview stage (I myself am not deaf, but I am speech-impaired, so I require a text-to-speech assistive device to “talk”). That Robert’s initial employers were “annoyed” upon discovering his deafness, speaks volumes about their former preconceptions regarding people with disabilities (though on that point I am glad that Robert’s success as a solicitor likely helped to change their attitudes). As such, I am completely with you, Tim, that perhaps the bigger issue is helping people with disabilities “become professionals, rather than just those who already are professionals.” Unfortunately, it is only realistic to suggest that a huge component of luck (and goodwill/enlightenment from able-bodied employers) will be necessary to navigate the ableistic landscape of our capitalistic market, and come out with a successful professional career.
Tim
May 27, 2015
Thanks for that supportive comment, Vivian, I’m glad somebody else understands my concerns.
Robert Hunter
May 28, 2015
Tim, Vivian – Thanks for your comments. Helping deaf (and other disabled) people to become professionals is one of the most important things that we do. Do please suggest to your profoundly deaf LLB graduates that they get in touch. I have worked with another profoundly deaf solicitor in the City. She was born deaf and would not have been able to conceal it at interview. Things are getting easier than they were, though it still takes more than a little determination.
We are reaching out to students to help them in their future careers, whether or not they are able to conceal their disabilities at interview. A large number of the people we help do not have the choice, particularly wheelchair users who have to disclose their access needs before they even meet their interviewers.
We do also help people once they have become professionals. It is easy to forget that most professions are very competitive. The nature of the problems that our mentees have to solve may change as their careers progress but they still appreciate support. Challenges certainly do not end when people get their first job. In many professions (such as accountancy or law) disabled people often ultimately find that their careers depend on winning work from clients, often in the face of determined competition from other non disabled professionals.
It has been a very long time since I have been able to conceal my disability. I am now profoundly deaf and have been for years. I regularly compete with excellent and equally experienced lawyers without disabilities from competitor firms for work from clients. Being able to win it is a major part of my job. I do not regard my deafness as affecting my legal skills and nor – barring two exceptions in 30 years or so – do clients. On the contrary disability has given me skills and insights that I might not otherwise have had and I make the most of them. It isn’t easy but you have to stay positive.
Don – my specialism is fraud litigation which would not assist you. There are other lawyers on the net who do this kind of work though.
Tim
May 28, 2015
Thanks, Robert, that is a very encouraging response and I will definitely suggest to Deaf LLB graduates that they get in touch with you.
Many non-disabled lawyers seem to think that they can second guess about disabled people’s issues. We both know they’re wrong.
Robert Hunter
May 29, 2015
Tim – I completely agree with the point you make in your last paragraph. Challenging stigmatic and ill informed preconceptions at interview and in the workplace can be tiring and frustrating, but I do think with practice we get better at it. One of the hopes we have for our mentoring schemes is to share our skills in dealing with it. Incidentally, if you’re interested, I have spent some time researching why people form these preconceptions and put my thoughts in a paper on City Disabilites’ website which is mentioned in the article.
Tim
May 30, 2015
Robert, I read it this morning and I like it a lot. It may not have been easy for you to write, but it’s very good to read something from somebody who understands from both a working law and a Deaf/disabled perspective. I will be recommending it!